2005-04-25 · in Books · 131 words

The classic mid-70s popular philosophy book. I think I'd read this before when I was 14 or so; I remembered much of the story but none of the philosophy, and I suspect the critique of academia didn't really click the first time I read it. This is the 25th anniversary edition, which has some extra material in the back including some correspondence with the book's editor, a new introduction, an interview with Pirsig and some fixed typography; the interview's particularly interesting.

I may disagree with some of the conclusions Pirsig -- or, rather, Phaedrus -- comes to, but this is still a great book, and an entertaining and persuasive read, and the commentary on the search for Quality in technology rings as true today as it did in 1974. Thoroughly recommended.